Big news on the science front is just emerging, and you can be a part of it. But first, let me give you a little background.

If you haven’t yet heard, some very peculiar nests which very well might have been made by the local sasquatches in the area have been found on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. Over twenty nests have now been discovered in an area not larger than one square mile. The site, which is off-limits to the general public, has been under observation for two years by some of the top researchers from the Olympic Project. I will leave it to them to eventually publish the findings and results of their study at a future time. For now, just know that this is going on, and has been for a couple years now.

I have personally seen the nests, and I am very impressed by them. I will go on record as saying that I believe sasquatches made them. They were constructed by twisting and breaking off branches from the surrounding huckleberry bushes which grow up to 8 feet tall in the area. The branches were brought to the nest locations and seemingly woven in an intentional shape that most resembles the ground nests of gorillas. The only other contender for possibly having made the nests would be a black bear, but a biologist who saw the nests noted that if this is black bear behavior, it is undocumented black bear behavior. Nothing like this has been seen before by anyone involved.

Recently, Dr. Jeff Meldrum was taken to the nest site area and shown a number of the nest structures. He took core samples from a number of the nests and will now attempt to get an environmental DNA analysis, or eDNA study, done on them.

Environmental DNA, also known as eDNA, is a way to get DNA from the environment, hence the name. This means that samples can be taken of dirt from the floor of caves, feeding sites, nests, or other locations where an animal is known to have been and tested for residual DNA, thus proving their presence. This technique has already been used to obtain DNA from a variety of animal species, including extinct species such as Neanderthals and Denisovans, both extinct hominins (or thought to be extinct) closely related to humans. Click here to read about these remarkable finds.

EDNA testing is pretty expensive, though, and that’s where we come in. Dr. Meldrum has started a crowd-funding effort to raise the money to get the samples tested. This is something we can all do together as a community to help provide solid, verifiable, scientific evidence for the existence of sasquatches. No donation is too small, and every dollar counts. I have donated, and I recommend you do too. Please share the link widely, post it on your social media accounts, and be loud and proud that you are helping to possibly solve the mystery of bigfoot. Click this link to participate in the fund raising campaign to prove bigfoot is real by eDNA analysis.

Sure, there is a chance that these are not nests made by sasquatches. Perhaps this will be another dead end, like so many efforts that have come before. But, think about it… How would you feel if this proves bigfoot is real and you didn’t donate even a dollar? This is an opportunity to participate in what could be the biggest scientific discovery of the new century. It’s worth a buck. Do it.

In a nutshell, Bigfoot in Evolutionary Perspective is a book that looks at data from various sources and uses that data to come to conclusions about bigfoot. The sources range from John Green’s sightings database, the BFRO database, and various books and publications. Wilson uses his own field experiences as grounds for his conclusions as well, as any field researcher should do.

The book is definitely a valuable resource for researchers. Wilson has created numerous charts and graphs in which he shows a breakdown of how many reports from Green’s database show a certain characteristic, such as height, arm length, or even the types of foods sasquatches have been seen eating. In fact, there is an entire section at the end of the book that only features these graphics, though they are peppered throughout the book in the appropriate chapters where those features are discussed.

A notable chapter in the book solely deals with the value and reliability of eyewitness testimony. This is particularly important to bigfooters because of the assumption by skeptics that eyewitness testimony is unreliable. Using data from psychological field studies, Wilson clearly shows that eyewitnesses are adroit at getting the main details of unusual events correct in retellings.

Other conclusions Wilson draws from the data are interesting to note, though many have been published elsewhere, such as the running speed of saquatches, how far and high they can jump, and others. However, even when rehashing these particular abilities, he does an excellent job using sighting reports to support his claims.

There are several points where my own opinion differs from that of Wilson’s. These points tend to come from assumptions that Wilson makes. Fore example, one entire chapter of the book details how sasquatches couldn’t possibly be a relict form of Gigantopithecus. While I am far from certain that sasquatches are relict Gigantos, I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss the idea. Wilson sites the research done by Cinchon in his book, Other Origins: The Search for the Giant Ape in Human Prehistory, probably the most complete book on the discovery and analysis of the Gigantopithecus fossils. Many assumptions about Gigantos have been made by both Cinchon and Wilson that would be difficult to know considering how few fossils we have of these creatures. No post cranial fossils of the species have been recovered, and everything we know about these creatures is derived from a handful of mandibles and a few hundred teeth. Saying that they were quadrupeds is as speculative as saying they were bipedal. Saying that Gigantos were almost exclusively herbivorous, had limited endurance, or only ranged locally are other examples of speculations based on incomplete data.

Another glaring example where my opinion diverges from that of Wilson has to do with the sasquatch hand. Since Wilson assumes that sasquatches are a hominin, which could very well be true, he also assumes that they would have to have human-like hands for precision grip. Yet the data suggests otherwise. Wilson contests the idea that the sasquatch thumb lies parallel to the other fingers. Such a thumb, if limited to this one position, would indeed lack the ability to pick up, grasp, and hold objects, just as he claims. Wilson’s mistake is his assumption that the sasquatch thumb can ONLY lie parallel to the other fingers. Just as your thumb can move inwards in a grasping motion and back and forth on a more horizontal plane, sasquatch thumbs seem to do the same. In fact, the available sasquatch hand casts show the thumb to be impressed at various angles from the other fingers demonstrating this mobility. Wilson uses many paragraphs to explain why such an inflexible and strange hand structure could not possibly be used for the variety of applications that sasquatch hands must be used for. I agree. The problem here is the inflexible idea that sasquatch hands can only bend a certain direction. I would argue that assuming a sasquatch thumb can only move in that limited way is a product of rigid expectations.

This cast was collected by Wes Sumerlin in the Blue Mountains. Note the angle of the thumb compared to the other fingers.

This huge hand was cast by Paul Freeman in the Blue Mountains. Note the thumb position as it bends inwards towards the camera.

The Titmus hand cast from the Bluff Creek area. Note the thumb lying parallel to the other fingers on the left.

Since Wilson disagrees with the hand analysis supported by Krantz and Meldrum based on the Freeman hand casts, he therefore goes on to assume that the Freeman handprint evidence, and indeed other casts not collected by Freeman but are often ascribed to him because they were collected in the Blue Mountains, are all hoaxes. This assumption then spills over to any evidence thought to have been collected by Freeman in the Blue Mountains. In my opinion, this is an error. Not only does most of the Freeman evidence stand up to analysis, but many of the so-called Freeman casts were actually collected by others, including Wes Sumerlin, Dar Addington, John Mionczynski, Vance Orchard, and others. Unfortunately due to incomplete and poorly-recorded data, these others’ contributions to the Blue Mountains evidence has been incorrectly ascribed to Paul Freeman.

Don’t get me wrong. Just because I disagree with some of Wilson’s conclusions doesn’t make this book any less valuable. In fact, I agree with most of his conclusions about bigfoots. I can also happily say that I picked up a couple things from the book that I hadn’t considered before. Wilson bravely speculates on what he thinks bigfoots are and can do, which makes for a much bolder book than the compendium of sighting reports that most bigfoot books end up being. Early in the book Wilson states that these are only his conclusions and he can be reasonably disagreed with. All good researchers should have this opinion. None of us have all the facts, and Wilson uses statistical analysis well to support many of his conclusions.

The book can be a little dry at times, as any statistical analysis can be, but the text is information-rich. I don’t agree with some of Wilson’s assumptions, but I also don’t mind my own assumptions being challenged by others, such as Wilson, when they are well-informed, use data, and have some field experience to back them up. While peppered with sighting reports, this is not a narrative, and the eyewitness reports are included to support Wilson’s conclusions as examples. For those scientifically-minded bigfooters that use facts and data to drive their opinions about sasquatches, I strongly recommend reading this book.

Click the link below to purchase your copy of this excellent bigfoot book.

Disclaimer: This page was made possible by a partnership from Amazon Associates who grants me a small commission on what you buy through the links. But, all opinions and reviews are my own, and these products wouldn’t be featured if I didn’t think it could help you be a better bigfooter.

The book shares an account of a family’s camping trip to the woods. Knocks are heard, a footprint is found, but not much really comes from the events. When the end of the book is reached, the reader is instructed to turn the book over and backwards, and then to read the book again. This time it is presented from the eyes of a sasquatch watching the family on their camping trip.

The book is an excellent example of perspectives in storytelling, and with a sasquatch as a silent protagonist, it would certainly be a favorite in the classroom or at home.

To order the book, click the links above. For more suggestions on bigfoot books for kids and teens, click this link.

This book is a short field guide of trees in North America as seen from a walk with a family of bigfoots. Each page has easily read, hand-written information on bigfoots, trees, or their fruits. The language is not “dumbed-down” for young readers, giving them the real scientific terms for classifications of leaves. A visual glossary of leaf terminology is given in the last pages of the excellent book for young naturalists/bigfooters.

The art in this field guide is of an interesting style. It seems to be a combination of paint, markers and collage. This combination makes many of the features in the art pop off of the page for the reader. It would also inspire young artists to try their hands at using these same techniques. If any original bigfoot art is created in your home using these techniques, I’d love to see it! Email a copy of it to me by clicking here!

A family of bigfoots chill while you read about wild fruits of North America.

At the publisher’s website, NatureLoverBooks.com, you can find links to bigfoot information, nature art projects and more. It’s a great resource for parents and teachers alike.

Bigfoot Drive In Burger Pit was in Oakhurst, Ca on Hwy 41. Closed in the early 1980’s. Former MLB pitcher Rudy May owned the property and was going to build another restaurant on the site but never did AFAIK. Restaurant had a few yellowed newspaper clippings, and a casting of a Bigfoot “footprint.”

What I would like to know is whatever happened to that footprint cast? Was it a copy or an original? Where and when was it cast? Do any of my readers have any information on this? If you find out anything on this, or already know something about this, please contact me!

While in attendance at the recent Sasquatch Summit in Ocean Shores, WA, a talented artist named Chuck Rondeau gave me a piece of art he created. Thank you, Chuck, for allowing me to share your art with my readers.

Enjoy his art, and visit his page on Facebook under Chuck Rondeau, Wildlife Artist.

UncategorizedComments Off on New Finding Bigfoot Season Starts January 8, 2017

Dec142016

After a very long wait, I am very happy to announce the next season of Finding Bigfoot is scheduled to air starting January 8, 2017! To everyone’s pleasure, we will be back on Sunday nights at 9 pm, just like old times.

This season will feature expeditions to new locations, as well as follow-up investigations to some states we’ve been to before. There will be a couple 2-hour episodes thrown in as well!

Set you DVRs for Sunday night, January 8, 2017 for the 2-hour season premiere, but be sure to keep your eyes open for the ones you’ve missed leading up to the starting event! The schedulers at Animal Planet like to do those Finding Bigfoot marathons leading up to season openers, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they do so again this year!

Making perfect Squatchmas gifts for the cryptozoologist in the family, Creatureplica‘s articulated action figures are now on sale for the holiday season. All models are priced $40 and under, and between now and Friday the shipping is FREE! This window of free shipping enables the gift to arrive safely by Squatchmas Eve.

These sculpted masterpieces are by far the best bigfoot, yeti, sasquatch, & other(s) reproductions ever made! It’s a stretch to even refer to them as toys rather than art, but any kid under 90 years of age will love playing with them.

Models now available:

North American Sasquatch

Himalayan Yeti

HorrorHound

Louisiana Rougarou

The Silverback (very limited)

The Skookum

The Ghost Wolf

To browse Creatureplica‘s selection and order today, check out their website by clicking here. I have seen these creations sell for much higher prices than these (but never with free shipping), so don’t wait too long to order yours.

On the December 3, 2016 episode of Saturday Night Live, a sketch about tracking down former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton had a familiar look. The font, screen shots, and references to bigfoot all come straight from Animal Planet’s Finding Bigfoot. Instead of whoops and knocks, the Hunting Hillary team utilized the distinctive laugh of Secretary Clinton and waited for callbacks.

This is not the first time other shows have given a nod to Finding Bigfoot. In 2012, South Park skewered us in their episode entitled Jewpacabra. Soon after, Steven Colbert had the Finding Bigfoot cast members star in a comedy short on his former show, The Colbert Report. And, of course, we have long been a favorite target on The Soup.